Paint can and cover



Jan. 13, 1959 J. HENCHERT PAINT CAN AND COVER Filed July 5, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 22 I, M zzz INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Jan. 13, 1959 J. HENCHERT PAINT CAN AND COVER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n a A A? a.

INVENTOR j ofin fienceri ATTORNEYS Unite States Fine PAINT CAN AND COVER John Henchert, River Forest, 11]., assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 5, 1956, Serial No. 595,943

3 Claims. '(Cl. 220-60) This invention relates to a new and improved paint can and cover assembly which may be tightly sealed for shipment, easily opened for use and readily re-sealed after partial use of the can contents.

The can side wall has an outwardly turned lip at its upper end preferably in the form of a tubular bead. The cover is of shallow cupped form and its side wall contacts with the inner side of the can side wall, the upper end of said cover side wall being provided with a lateral flange which overlies the can lip and preferably carries a gasket tightly contacting with said lip. Coacting detent means are provided on the can and cover side walls to normally connect them yet permit the cover to be easily pried ofi when required and replaced after partial meet the can contents. A removable channeled ring, preferably embraces the can lip and the cover flange to prevent possible loosening of the cover during shipment.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel construction in which the lower end of the cover side wall is inwardly olfset to space it from the can side wall, and in which the coacting detent means of the can and cover side walls are disposed in the space thus provided, leaving the major portion of the cover side wall of smooth cylindrical form for sealing contact with the can side wall.

Another object is to provide a novel construction in which the inwardly offset lower end of the cover side wall and the coacting detent means are so related as to provide arcuate spaces through which paint may drain from the above mentioned space when the cover is replaced after partial use of the can contents.

A further object is to provide the detent means of one of the above mentioned side walls in the form of a rib projecting toward the other of said side walls, and to provide the detent means of said other of said side walls in the form of circumferentially spaced mound-like detents projecting toward said one of saidside walls, said rib being spaced from said other of said side walls to provide arcuate paint drainage spaces between said dome-like detents.

A still further object is to provide the coacting detent means with contacting surfaces which exert a downward camming force on the cover to hold the gasket of the cover flange tightly seated upon the can lip.

Yet another object is to provide the cover flange with a downwardly and inwardly turned edge which underlies the outer edge portion of the gasket to prevent separation of the latter from the cover during initial opening of the can and any subsequent re-opening thereof.

A still further object is to provide a simple and inexpensive sheet metal construction whichmay be expeditiously manufactured and profitably marketed at a reasonable price.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to .the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the sealed can.

Figure 2 is a side elevation showing the preferred form of construction, the cover being separated from the can.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail horizontal sectional view on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing a different form of construction.

Figure 6 is a detail horizontal sectional view on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

The construction disclosed will be rather specifically described but it will be obvious that variations may well be made. Also, while the principal use of the can is for .paint, it may of course be employed for other liquids.

The can 10 has a cylindrical side wall. 11, the upper end of which is curled outwardly, downwardly and inwardly to provide a rounded lip 12 which will collect -no appreciable amount of paint when a paint brush is lightly scraped against it to remove surplus paint.

In Figures 2 to 4, the side wall 11 is provided with an inwardly projecting detent rib 13 extending circumferentially thereof. This rib projects about & from the can side wall 11 and is spaced downwardly about A" from the upper side of the lip 12.

In Figures 5 and 6, the side wall 11 is provided with circumferentially spaced mound-like detents 14 which project inwardly therefrom. The extent of projection of these detents from the side wall 11 is about M and they are spaced downwardly about A" from the top of the lip 12.

The can cover 15 is of shallow cupped form and the vertical side wall 16 of said cover is dimensioned for comparatively light sealing contact with the can side wall 11. The upper end of the cover side Wall 16 is provided with a flange 17 to overlie the can lip 12, and the lower side of said flange is provided with a gasket 18 to seat upon said lip. The flange 17 and gasket 18 are both of greater radial width than the upwardly presented surface of the lip 12 and project radially beyond this lip surface. The outer edge of the flange 17 is turned downwardly and inwardly at 19 under and into the outer edge portion of the gasket 18 to prevent separation of said gasket from the cover 15 whenever said cover is removed. Due to the width of the flange 17, its turned edge 19 will not interfere with proper seating of the gasket 18 on the lip 12. t

The lower end 2i? of the cover side wall 16 is inwardly ofiFset at 21 to space it from the can side wall 11 sufiiciently to entirely clear the detent rib 13 or the dome-like detents 14. In Figures 2 to 4, the inwardly offset wall end 20 is formed with outwardly projecting circumferentially spaced mound-like detents 22 underlying the rib 13 of the can side wall: and in Figures 5 and 6, said inwardly offset end 20 is provided with a circumferential outwardly projecting detent rib 23 underlying the detents 14 of the can side wall. In either instance, the detent means (13, 22 or 14, 23) are disposed entirely Within the space 24 between the inwardly offset lower end 2*!) of the cover side wall 16 and the opposed portion of the can side wall 11, leaving the upper portions of said walls of smooth cylindrical form for sealing contact with each other.

In Figure 3 it will be seen that each detent 22 and the rib 13 have contacting cam portions 220 and 13a, respectively, which coact to exert a downward force on the cover 15, thereby tightly holding the gasket 18 seated upon the can lip 12. Also, from Figure 5, it will be seen that each detent 14 and the rib 23 have similar cam portions 14a and 23a, respectively, for the same purpose.

The rib 13 in Figures 3 and 4 is spaced from the inwardly offset lower end 20 of the cover side wall 16 to 9 provide arcuate spaces 25 between the detents 22. Similarly, the rib 23 in Figures and 6 is spaced from the can side wall 11 to provide arcuate spaces 26 bei tween the detents 14. The arcuate spaces 25 and 26 permit paint to downwardly drain from the above described space 24 when the cover'15 is replacedion the cam after using part of the can contents. There can thus be no trapping of any ofthe .paint pushed down- When initially applying the cover 15 to the can 10 by downward pressure, the walls 11 and 16 yield to allow the detents 22 (Figure 3) to pass the rib 13, or to allow the rib 23 (Figure 5) to pass the detents 14. The metal is thus tensioned and its tension is exerted to return the spring walls 11 and 16 toward normal shape andto thereby cause the cam portions 1311' and 22a (Figure 3) or the cam portions 14a and 23a (Figure 5) to exert a downward force on the cover 15 to hold the gasket 18 tightly seated upon the can lip 12. These same actions occur during each replacement of the cover 15 after using part of the can contents; and during each cover replacement any paint pushed downwardly along thecan side wall 11 may drain downwardly from the space 24 through the arcuate spaces 25 (Figure 4) or 26 (Fig ure 6).

Although the detent means firmly holds the cover 15 on the can 10, said cover may be easily pried off by inserting a suitable tool between the curled edge 19 of the cover flange 17 and the can lip 12; and said cover may be repeatedly removed and replaced without decreasing the effectiveness of said detent means.

As a precaution against accidental removal of the cover 15 during shipment, a suitable channeled clamping ring 27 (Figures 1 and 3) is preferably employed to.

embrace the cover flange 17 and the can lip 12. This ring 27 may well have pull tabs 28 and score lines 29 to aid in severing and removing said ring.

From the foregoing it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been disclosed for attainingv the desired ends. Attention, however, is again invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention, and to the possibility of using the can for liquids other than paint.

I claim:

1. In a paint can and cover assembly, a can having a bottom and a vertical side wall secured at its lower end to said bottom, the upper end of said can side wall being provided with a lip turned outwardly away from the can interior, and a cover of shallow cupped form and having a vertical side wall and a bottom, the upper portion of said cover side wall being cylindrical and in contact with the inner side of said can side wall and having an outwardly turned flange overlying said lip, the lower end portion of said cover side wall being offset inwardly throughout its periphery to provide a space between itself and said can side wall extending full depth of said cover side Wall down to the bottom of the cover, said inwardly offset lower end portion of said cover side Wall being provided with detent means projecting into said space, said detent means being located in spaced relation to the upper edge of the inwardly offset lower end portion, said can side wall also having detent means projecting into said. space and yieldably engagingtsaid detent means of saidcover side wall to removably secure 1 j the cover to the can, said detent means of one of said side walls comprising circumferentially spaced moundlike projections on this Wall, said detent means of the other of said side walls consisting of a continuous rib on this wall, said rib being spaced radially of the can from said one'of said side walls toprovide arcuate paint drainage spaces between said mound-like projections, said.

detent means all being disposed intermediately of the depth of said olfset cover wall portion to provide free circumferential spacing both above and below the detent means between, said ofiset cover wall portion-and the opposing can side wall.

2. A structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the rib projectsfrom the inner wall of the can, and themound-like projections are integral with the wall of the cover.

3. A structure asset forth in claim v1, wherein the rib 1 projects from the inner wall of the cover, and the moundlike projections are integral with the wall of the can.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,765,062 Draper June17, 1930. 1,930,324 Stern Oct. 10, 1933' 2,019,360 Punte Oct. 29, 1935 2,200,081 Gibbs May 7, 1940 2,652,947 Henchert Sept. 22, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 221 Great Britain 1914 651,514 Great Britain Apr.'4,' 1951 666,694 Great Britain Feb. 20, 1952 487,188 Italy Nov. 23, 1953 

